dancing in the dark
by harumichi98
Summary: In which Jirou has a hopeless crush on Yaoyorozu, Kaminari is a horrible wingman, and Yaoyorozu has no idea what she's doing to Jirou.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: In which Jirou has a hopeless crush on Yaoyorozu, Kaminari is a horrible wingman, and Yaoyorozu has no idea what she's doing to Jirou. This was supposed to be a oneshot but over 8k words later and here we are. Part 2 coming soon!

It was hard not to notice Momo Yaoyorozu the instant she walked into a room. With her bubbly personality and a ponytail just as big, it was actually _impossible_. Well, impossible for Kyouka Jirou to not notice her. The rest of the class 1A seemed to be doing just fine at not paying attention to her.

Jirou let her gaze linger on her a bit longer than she normally would. It wasn't until the purple haired teen felt a sharp jab on her shoulder that Jirou realized she was staring. "Obvious much?" The question came from the seatmate to her right, Kaminari Denki. Jirou narrowed her eyes and shot him an angry glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jirou shot back, but a tinge of pink rising to her cheeks said otherwise.

"Oh, just your big fat crush on Yaomomo, what else?" The blonde boy teased her causing the pink tinge to rise to a much more noticeable red.

"Go electrocute yourself or something, Denki." Jirou huffed and slumped down in her seat. While her and Kaminari were great friends, it was times like this that Jirou hated telling him about her crush on the class vice president.

"_I could totally be your wingman!" _Kaminari had said to her excitedly when she first told him. _"I'll help you get laid in no time!" _He sent off that comment with a thumbs up and suggestive wink, which Jirou had followed up by jabbing him with one of her jacks.

Everything was all in good fun, but the scales of fun at this moment weighed more in Kaminar's favor than Jirou's, especially when the girl of the hour began to walk past where Jirou was sitting.

"Good morning Jirou, Kaminari- at least I hope it's been a good morning for you both so far!" Momo dipped her head at both of them and smiled softly.

"Good morning to you too, Yaomomo! Jirou and I here were just talking about how she's falling a bit behind in Present Mics class." Jirou didn't have to see Kaminari to know that he was probably wearing a shit eating grin. With Yaoyorozu being the class genius, this was an obvious setup to get Jirou to study with her.

"I never said that!" Jirou raised her voice at Kaminari. A few heads turned at the sudden burst of noise which caused Jirou to shyly look down at her desk. She wasn't a fan of unwarranted attention from anyone, which made Kaminari pulling this wingman stunt even worse for her.

A soft pressure`became present on Jirou's shoulder. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about- English is hard." Yaoyorozu had placed her hand on Jirou's shoulder in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but in fact made the girl more nervous.

"Yea. I guess it is." Jirou finally moved her eyes up from the desk and looked at Yaoyorozu. As per usual the taller girl had a determined look in her eyes- something Jirou noticed she always had when talking about her studies. The small amount of eye contact between them caused Jirou's face to flush once again.

"Jirou, are you feeling okay?" Yaoyorozu asked. The look in her eyes switched from determination to concern. "Your face is a bit red." Jirou could've sworn she heard Kaminari stifle a laugh behind her when Yaoyorozu said that. The hand on her shoulder moved to cup her cheek. "You feel a bit warm too."

It took a lot in Jirou not to lean into Yaoyorozu's hand on her cheek. The touch seemed weirdly intimate for a classroom setting, but Jirou pushed that thought to the back of her head as quickly as it had come forth. They were friends, and Yaoyorozu just cared about her. "I'm fine. It's just a bit warm in here." Jirou finally managed to get out. Her face was heating up every second that Yaoyorozu kept her hand on her cheek.

"Are you sure? I can take you to Recovery Girl." She insisted. Jirou quickly shook her head no causing Yaoyorozu to move her hand back. All too quickly she missed the contact between them, no matter how insignificant it may have been. Yaoyorozu looked like she was going to press the issue, but thankfully Aizawa chose that moment to walk into class.

"Alright everyone, we have a lot to cover today." Aizawa's monotone voice rang out throughout the classroom. Slowly but surely everyone who had been standing around made their way to their seats.

"If you're feeling better, you should come to my room after school. I can help you with your English studies." Yaoyorozu continued to talk as she retreated to her own desk in the back of the classroom. "And I can make tea and prepare snacks… Oh! I'll have to tidy up a bit and make some room, but that shouldn't be too hard. Sometimes I think I brought to much furniture with me..." Jirou smiled discreetly as the other girl continued to mumble all the way back to her desk.

Kaminari leaned over and smiled brightly at Jirou. "Best wingman ever, am I right?" Since Jirou couldn't use her quirk to stab him in the middle of the class, she settled on an eye roll. Still, the smile didn't falter from her expression. Studying with Yaoyorozu was a package deal- it was a chance to spend alone time with her and probably learn something.

"Don't push it." Jirou mumbled and pointedly averted her eyes away from the blonde. Aizawa was droning on about something, his voice never straying too far from his usual tone. But instead of focusing on her teacher her mind was wandering to the girl who sat three seats behind and one to the right.

It wasn't like Jirou to psych herself out over something so trivial. It's not like the girls hadn't studied together before. Of course that had been in a group, but it didn't matter. They had ended up breaking into smaller groups during that study session leaving Jirou with Yaoyorozu anyways.

To everyone else in the class the two girls were best friends. If someone told Jirou when she first got into UA that she would become extremely close to the intelligent rich girl who got in on recommendation, she would have laughed in their face. The phrase 'opposites attract' seemed to ring true when Jirou realized her punk rock aesthetic didn't clash with the air of elegance that followed Yaoyorozu around.

Jirou had no idea when she first starting liking Yaoyorozu, but the thought of being alone with her _crush_ of all things bounced around in her head all afternoon. One day she was friends with the girl, and the next thing Jirou knew something in her had shifted when she looked at Yaoyorozu.

There was a subtle change at first; Jirou would notice certain things and think that her hair looked especially bouncy or her smile was extra wide that day. Some days she caught herself staring at the other girl for no particular reason besides just to _stare_ at her. It was like rereading a book where the words didn't change but each time you might notice another detail.

Soon the details of Yaoyorozu became filed away in Jirou's mind. It was the little things she noticed, such as clasping her hands together when she was excited about something, or the way the look in her eyes would harden when she was focusing on something intently. These were things Jirou found herself looking forward to see, like she had begun finding items in a scavenger hunt.

One day before class started Yaoyorozu was talking to Iida about something when she let out a laugh. It was dumb, Jirou had thought at the time, to get nervous over a laugh that wasn't even directed at her. There was no way Iida had said something funny enough to warrant a laugh that loud, but Yaoyorozu apparently disagreed. When the melodic laughter reached her and reverberated through her ear jacks, Jirou realized she was definitely a goner.

Yaoyorozu was like the sun in the sky on a cloudless day. Jirou knew in this comparison she was like twilight, a dark sky mixed with fading colors and tiny pinpricks of light's millions of miles away from everything else. The sun pulled everyone into her while the stars kept their distance, but somehow they still worked.

That's why Jirou had her thoughts go wild every time she thought of Yaoyorozu, and that was the reason she didn't want to admit how she felt. Their relationship meant everything to Jirou, meaning there wasn't a chance in the world she wanted to ruin what they had. Yaoyorozu was just another unattainable thing for Jirou but she was still content watching from the sideline.

"You look like a lost puppy." Kaminari said as they walked through the hall together. Jirou scoffed at him but knew that his statement was most likely true. "Y'know I'm sure if you just told Yaomomo how you felt…" He trailed off and playfully bumped Jirou's shoulder with his own.

"I don't want to jeopardize our friendship." Jirou shrugged and Kaminari groaned dramatically.

"But you always say that!" Kaminari whined, and as much as Jirou wanted to berate him for acting like that, he had a point.

"And I always will." Jirou challenged back. "You're the reason I'm studying with her after school on a subject I don't need help with." Kaminari smiled widely at this, his whining momentarily forgotten.

"It's only because you've got the best wingman!" He shot her his signature thumbs up to which Jirou only sighed. The pair walked side by side in a comfortable silence through the hallway. Jirou was thankful for the friendship that her and Kaminari had. His bright personality rounded out her edgier one, but they could both poke fun at one another without getting offended. "What's stopping you from telling her anyways?"

Another sigh escaped Jirou's mouth. "I already told you-"

"Yea, I know, jeopardizing friendship, blah, blah, blah." Kaminari cut her off. The two walked made their way outside and towards the dorms. "But what if that wasn't on the table? Would you do it?"

"If things were different, maybe. But it's complicated. I can't explain it all." Jirou answered shortly. Each step towards the dormitory caused the knot in her stomach to grow tighter and tighter. She was overthinking this, and she knew it. The whole day had been a flurry of ridiculous thoughts all because of a damn _study session_.

"Alright, whatever you say." Kaminari shrugged and left the conversation at that. Something else Jirou admired about him was that he wouldn't press on a subject she didn't want to talk about. He held the door open as they walked inside the dormitory and through the common room.

Since the school day had just ended they were one of the first ones to get back. Their friendship had grown stronger once they realized they would be rooming on the same floor. The third floor was thankfully one of the quieter floors. Kaminari and Hagakure were the loudest among them, but Jirou didn't mind. Hagakure tended to bug Ojiro more than anyone else, and Kaminari typically knew when Jirou needed space.

When they arrived at the third floor Kaminari followed Jirou inside her room like it was the most natural thing in the world, and it was for them. Sometimes Jirou would play him songs from a new band she discovered, or if she followed Kaminari he would show her the newest stupid internet video he found.

"So what time is your date?" Kaminari asked as Jirou shut the door behind them. He took a seat on the chair at her desk while Jirou laid back onto her bed.

"It's not a date." Jirou mumbled and stared up at her ceiling. "I don't know. You heard our entire conversation this morning." Kaminari leaned forward and stared at the other girl with a look of disbelief.

"You mean you haven't text her? Come on Jirou, this is the prime time to have an excuse to talk to her!" Kaminari said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The thought of her phone sitting in her backpack a few feet away burned in her mind. She sat up and quickly glanced at her backpack, something Kaminari picked up on.

All Jirou saw was a flash of yellow before her backpack was in the hands of Kaminari. He fished around for a second before pulling out her phone. "Denki, don't even think about it." Jirou jumped off of the bed and reached for her phone, but Kaminari was quicker.

"I just want to get the conversation started! It's my duty as wingman." Kaminari exclaimed while turning away from Jirou's attempts to snag back her phone.

"You do realize I never agreed to let you be my wingman, right?" Her attempts to grab the phone was futile. Jirou could see that Kaminari was already scrolling through her contacts looking for Yaoyorozu's name. It was towards the bottom of the list, and Jirou had saved it as _**yaomomo!**_ with a small sunflower emoji next to her name.

"It's a self appointed position." Kaminari deadpanned as he clicked the contact name. Jirou realized that there was no way he would give her cellphone back, and also no way she would dare to engage in using her quirk near all of her instruments.

"Whatever." Jirou slumped back down on her bed. "You better not send something that makes me look stupid." Kaminari chuckled and opened the message button.

"When have I ever made you look stupid?" He asked while typing out a message. Jirou raised an eyebrow at him thinking back to earlier that morning. "Point taken." Kaminari said and threw the phone back to its owner. "I haven't sent it yet, so I'll leave it to you. I have plans to work out with Kirishima. Catch ya later!"

Kaminari left Jirou with a sly smirk, a wink, and an unsent text message. Jirou looked down at her phone and read the message.

_**hey! did you still want to study together? there's a few questions i had from todays lesson.**_

The message was innocent enough coming from Kaminari and Jirou hit the send button without changing anything. She didn't have any questions from the lesson today but it was worth saying if not to get the basis of studying started. Before Jirou could even come up with what "questions" she had her phone was already vibrating with a response.

_**yaomomo!: Yes, I've been looking forward to it! Please feel free to come by whenever it's convenient. I left my door unlocked.**_

Jirou quickly typed back an "okay, be there in five." and hit send. That means she had five minutes to change clothes and think about how apparently Yaoyorozu had been looking forward to her coming over. She stripped out of her school uniform and into clothes she was more comfortable in. Almost everyone in the dorms had seen each other in anything from formal wear to pajamas, so Jirou didn't hesitate to pick out comfy clothes.

After a few moments of consideration she finally decided on a simple pairing of leggings and a dark purple shirt that hung off one shoulder. Jirou grabbed her backpack and began the walk up to the fifth floor where Yaoyorozu's room was. Jirou had only seen her room once before when the hype of the dormitory was strong and most of class 1A showed off their rooms. Now, she was a bit nervous at the prospect of being in such a lavish place with a girl of the same caliber.

Before she knew it Jirou found herself in front of said dorm room. A thought about turning around and going back to the comfort of her own room crossed her mind but she knew Kaminari wouldn't hesitate to meddle between them again. Jirou let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding in and raised a shaky hand to the handle of the door.

"I'm here!" Jirou announced before opening the door and walking inside. Seeing the decorated room in person again was shocking to her. Jirou had almost forgotten how extravagant all the furniture looked in such a small state. But what she hadn't forgotten was how self conscious Yaoyorozu was about said fact.

"Jirou!" The voice came from across the room. Yaoyorozu was laying on her stomach across her bed with a few papers spread around her. The usual ponytail she sported seemed to have been taken out as carefully combed brown hair hung loose around her face. Like Jirou, Yaoyorozu had traded her school uniform for comfier clothes. She had on a matching set of beige shorts and shirt that matched the color scheme of the room perfectly.

Instead of responding, Jirou found herself frozen. She knew she was a mess when it came to crushes, but until she was face to face with it Jirou didn't realize how bad she really had it. "Are you still not feeling okay?" The tone in Yaoyorozu's voice quickly changed from casual to concerned. "We could have rescheduled this. Studies are important but so is taking care of yourself."

"What? Oh, I'm fine! I was just thinking about some stuff." Jirou felt that Yaoyorozu could see right through her, but if she did the other girl didn't show it. "It's not a big deal, really." She tried to keep her words casual but there was a sense of urgency as Jirou rushed the responses. "Thanks in advance for helping me out Yaomomo! It means a lot."

The look of concern gradually faded from Yaoyorozu's eyes as Jirou crossed the room. "It's my pleasure! Anything to help out a friend in need." Yaoyorozu began to move the papers on her bed over to one side. "We can look over everything up here. It's much comfier this way." The bed was more than big enough for both girls, but Jirou hadn't expected Yaoyorozu to suggest this place for studying.

In short, Jirou was already flustered and she wasn't even touching the bed. Yaoyorozu seemed to notice the shift in the other girls mood. "I know it's bad study habits, but I truly find this to be much more comfortable." Yaoyorozu looked down when she said the next part. "And I have a horrible habit of falling asleep while I study, so at least this way I'm comfortable."

There was a moment of silence where Yaoyorozu stared down at at her comforter and Jirou stared at her. A lightbulb went off in Jirou's head when she realized that Yaoyorozu was _embarrassed _by the fact that she just admitted that. A slight pink tinge had works its way to Yaoyorozu's cheeks that proved Jirou's theory correct.

"That, um, makes a lot of sense though, Yaoyorozu! I mean, you did get the top score in our class on the midterms." Jirou rambled on as she unpacked her things, avoiding looking at the other girl. Knowing that Yaoyorozu was flustered by her study habits of all things was too cute for Jirou to handle.

Yaoyorozu looked up from whatever she had focused on and directed her eyes towards Jirou. While Jirou finished pulling her notebook out she could feel the other girls gaze burning into her. "Now I'm convinced you're not feeling okay." Yaoyorozu said very matter of factly.

"Why do you say that?" Jirou asked a bit nervously. She sat down on the edge of the bed with her feet touching the floor. Part of her was still hesitant to lie down completely next to Yaoyorozu. Studying or not, Jirou felt guilty for allowing herself to be so close to the other girl while she had no idea of Jirou's true feelings.

"You called me Yaoyorozu. I just thought we were closer than that." Jirou couldn't help but let out a giggle at this. Out of everything the other girl was worried about, it appeared to be that where she studied and what Jirou called her were at the top of her list. "Have I said something funny?" Yaoyorozu asked when she caught wind of Jirou's chuckling, but the question only made her laughs increase.

"I'm sorry- I just think it's funny how you're worried about those two things more than anything." Jirou finally hoisted herself fully onto the bed. The feelings of guilt were far from gone but with the lighthearted conversation going on between them, Jirou felt that it was the best time to do so. "It's, uh, cute." She mumbled as an afterthought.

The sounds of Yaoyorozu's hands clasping together gently alerted Jirou that the other girl approved of her response. Jirou finally moved to where she was lying down on her stomach. The large bed suddenly felt a lot smaller when she realized there was only mere inches separating them from touching. "You think I'm cute?" Yaoyorozu practically whispered, but Jirou heard due to the close proximity.

"Do I what?" Jirou squeaked out, not believing that Yaoyorozu was asking her that question.

"Think that. I mean, think I'm cute." Yaoyorozu looked bashful while asking this, her eyes once again cast downwards. This time the blush on her cheeks was accompanied by a small smile. Jirou recognized this look as it was one the other girl sported when someone praised her.

"I mean yea, I think you're cute." The blush on Jirou's face was rapidly spreading and quickly became worse than the one Yaoyorozu sported. "Momo." She added, jumping straight past the formality of using her last name or even a nickname. "You know you can call me Kyouka. If you want." Yaoyorozu looked up and nodded, both of their faces red enough that it was obvious to each other they were both flustered.

"Kyouka." Yaoyorozu dipped her head slightly. "Let's get to studying." The tension between them was present, but they didn't talk about it. Jirou was too nervous to ask anything else and Yaoyorozu seemed so intense on helping her with English that she didn't want to stop her. By the end of the study session Jirou had definitely learned a handful of things.

One, Yaoyorozu was a _damn_ good teacher. Two, it's hard to focus on studying when your crush is sitting a few inches away from you. Three, it's really hard to focus on studying when you keep brushing arms against your crush. Four, Yaoyorozu smelled really good. And five, Jirou had it bad. Like, really bad.

The next day was mostly uneventful up until lunch time. For Jirou it was a mostly normal day that involved her usual classes and Kaminari teasing the hell out of her. "So from what you're telling me, you and Yaomomo basically flirted." Kaminari said while they walked towards the lunch room. Jirou sighed.

"It wasn't like that for her. I think she was just geniunely trying to be nice to me." She knew that Kaminari wouldn't let her breathe until she told him the entire story, so she gave him most of the details. Jirou wanted to keep at least a part of it to herself. "Besides, we did a lot studying anyways."

"Yea, but she kept bumping your arms together. Do you think it was on purpose?" Jirou shrugged and the two walked into the lunch room. They kept mostly silent as they waited in line to get their lunches. Not only was Jirou reflecting on the answer she wanted to give, but she didn't want anyone to overhear them talking about Yaoyorozu.

"I don't think so. We were on her bed together so we were close to begin with." Kaminari's eyes got bigger as Jirou said this.

"Wait- you mean you two were studying on her _bed_?" Jirou silently cursed herself for letting this little detail slip. This was one of the things that she hadn't said. Kaminari had assumed that they had studied at a desk or table, so Jirou didn't correct him.

"Yes?" She managed to answer weakly. There was no point in denying that since Jirou had already said it. "It was nothing like that! She just told me how it was easier for her to study that way is all." Kaminari narrowed his eyes.

"But the last time you studied together, it was at a table. In a common area. Not in her bed of a private room." Jirou felt like she could drop dead of embarrassment at any moment while Kaminari looked amused.

"Last time we studied together was with a group of people." Jirou pointed out, but the boy just kept on smiling.

"So you admit that maybe Yaomomo acts different around you? We both know her room was big enough to hold everyone…" Kaminari trailed off. He raised an eyebrow and Jirou had to admit that he made a very valid point.

"There's lots of reasons that she could've done that!" Jirou shot back.

"Maybe because she likes you, too." The smirk stayed put on Kaminari's face and Jirou knew that she had lost this round. She took a bite of food to hide the scowl that was developing. It wasn't like she was mad at Kaminari, the points he made were valid and that's why her mood was turning sour. "So when's the next date?" He asked innocently.

"Remind me again why I put up with you?" Jirou shoved another bite of food into her mouth and glared at the boy sitting in front of her.

"Because I'm the best wingman out there!" He declared triumphantly. "Watch this." Jirou had no time to ask what she was supposed to be watching, because Kaminari decided to show her and most of the lunch room. "Hey Yaomomo! Over here!" He stood up on his chair and frantically waved his arms. Jirou turned around to see Yaoyorozu looking a bit confused at Kaminari's actions.

"_Denki_." Jirou growled through gritted teeth, but he kept on waving his arms. A few people turned to look their way due to the yelling, but Kaminari didn't stop until Yaoyorozu started walking towards them. Jirou locked eyes with the other girl for a split second before turning back around to resume her glaring at Kaminari.

"Yaomomo! What's up?" He completely ignored Jirou and focused on the brunette who was now only a few steps away.

"I could ask you the same thing,, Kaminari. I believe you were the one flagging me over." Yaoyorozu stopped so she was standing right next to Jirou. "Did you need something?"

"Nope! I just wanted to say, as Jirou's friend, thank you for helping her with her English. I can tell she's already improving." Jirou was getting ready to kick Kaminari underneath the table but stopped when she heard Yaoyorozu chuckle.

"Is that all? Well she is a fast learner." Just like the day before Jirou felt a hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome to study with me another time. I enjoyed it." Yaoyorozu looked down at Jirou as she said this.

"Only because you're a great teacher." Jirou said. There was definitely a twinge of nervousness in her voice she hoped neither of her companions noticed.

"Well it was nice chatting with you two. Kaminari, Kyouka." Yaoyorozu dipped her head and was gone as fast as she had arrived. Jirou was definitely still considering kicking Kaminari for making her look like a fool in front of Yaoyorozu not just once, but twice now. Kaminari, on the other hand, was giving Jirou a knowing look.

"Kyouka, huh? I didn't realize you two were that close."

"Stuff it, Denki." And for once, Kaminari did something that Jirou told him to. The rest of their lunch period was filled with casual conversation about random things which Jirou was happy for. The remainder of the school day also played out relatively the same- boring, and that's how it stayed until the day was over.

On Friday Jirou woke up and, like any other high school student, was excited for the prospect of the weekend. Nothing special was going on but she liked knowing there were two full days where she could relax. As expected the school day dragged on at a ridiculously slow pace.

They were given a pop quiz in English which Jirou surprisingly did well on. Before her study session with Yaoyorozu she hadn't been horrible in the class, but she had lacked a few understandings which sacrificed her chances at an A in the class. Jirou didn't necesarily care about getting an A, but she had to admit it definitely felt good to understand everything.

At the end of the day Jirou wound up lying in her bed listening to music. Kaminari trained with Bakugou and Kirishima every weekend, so she knew he'd be busy. Jirou lucked out when it came to her other floormate because Hagakure was typically always out and about as well. This meant she could blast her music as loud and as much as she wanted to, which is exactly what Jirou did on most ocassions.

The music was so loud that Jirou almost missed the buzzing of her phone.

_**[17:55] yaomomo!: Sorry to bother you, but I decided to drop by your room. I admire your music taste but I don't think you can hear me knocking. Is this a bad time?**_

_**[17:57] yaomomo!: I'm beginning to think that this may be poor timing on my part.**_

_**[16:00] yaomomo!: I find the fact that your music is so loud you can't hear me knocking or your phone going off is very amusing.**_

_**[16:01] yaomomo!: Well, assuming your phone is even going off.**_

_**[16:04] yaomomo!: I think I'm going to leave you to it. We can talk another time. Have a wonderful evening!**_

Jirou's phone screen lit up with a slew of missed messages that Yaoyorozu had sent her. Her phone boasted a time of 16:05, so Jirou had just narrowly missed the last text message coming through. She turned her music down and quickly typed a reply.

_**i'm so sorry! if you want to come back i promise i'll answer the door**_

Almost instantaneously after hitting the "send" button did Jirou hear a knock at her door. "Uh, Momo?" She asked hesitantly. Jirou doubted the girl could have doubled back to her room that quickly.

"Yes! I just got your text but I wasn't far when I heard your music turn down so I came back." Came the muffled response from the other side of the door. After a few moments of silence Yaoyorozu spoke again. "May I come in or is this a bad time?" Jirou realized she had just been standing in the middle of the room having a mild gay panic over the fact Yaoyorozu was standing outside of her door at that moment.

"I'm coming! One sec!" Jirou hadn't changed out of her school uniform yet so she frantically grabbed the closest set of clothes she had. She ended up in black shorts and some random band shirt. After taking a second to throw her clothes in her closet she opened the door for the other girl.

Yaoyorozu stood in front of her in grey shorts and a white t-shirt. Jirou didn't even know the other girl _owned_ a t-shirt, let alone a plain one, but she felt her throat go dry. It was clear Yaoyorozu could make anything look elegant. "Kyouka! I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Jirou stepped to the side to let the other girl in.

"No, I was just listening to some music." Jirou answered and Yaoyorozu giggled.

"As I heard." Jirou shut the door to her room and tried to ignore the fact that Yaoyorozu was poking fun at her. It wasn't that she was offended, but more taken off guard by how comfortable the other girl was around her. The Yaoyorozu in front of her was much different than the vice president the rest of class 1A saw her as.

"So you understand why I didn't answer the door." Jirou decided she could try and roll with the lighthearted teasing. The other girl was already making herself at home and took a seat on the vacant. Jirou sat back down where she had already been on her bed.

"Maybe next time I won't wait." Yaoyorozu said and Jirou just stared at her. Out of everything she expected to come out of her mouth it definitely wasn't that. The other girl seemed to think she did something wrong judging by the way Jirou was blatantly staring. "Oh, was that too much? I'm sorry. I'm not good at joking."

Jirou had to laugh. "Momo, I think you're the only person who could stand outside for almost 10 minutes, get ignored, make a decent joke, and still apologize for it." Jirou said while laughing. "I didn't expect you to have such a quick comeback, that's all." Yaoyorozu's facial features looked a lot more relaxed after the explanation.

"I usually don't come by unannounced, but I wanted your help with something." For a second, the idea that Yaoyorozu did in fact like her flashed through Jirou's mind. She knew Kaminari wasn't joking when he said that earlier. There were 19 other people Yaoyorozu could have gone to in the dorms, granted not everyone would be in the running, but Jirou knew she was closer to a few other people than herself. Why would she pick her?

"I can help you, what's up?" Jirou asked, figuring it would be something small. The answer she got was definitely not something she was expecting.

"I would like to have a sleepover." Yaoyorozu finally said adverting her eyes to the ground.

"A… sleepover?" Jirou echoed in disbelief. The other girl nodded fervently.

"I was in the common area and I overheard Ashido and Hagakure talking about having a sleepover. They asked me what my favorite part of having a sleepover was. I had to admit that I'd never had a sleepover." Yaoyorozu paused for a second and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "They were shocked, to say the least, and told me I had to have one as soon as possible.

"I told them I didn't know who I could ask." Jirou nodded just to show that she was listening. "We were still discussing the matter when Kirishima, Bakugou, and Kaminari walked into the common room." Jirou clenched her fist the second she heard Kaminari's name. She should have known that he had something to do with this. "Then we all started talking about sleepovers- even Bakugou! Although he didn't contribute much more than saying 'they're lame', it was still on topic."

Yaoyorozu laughed at her own retelling of the story, and Jirou offered a smile. The pit of dread in her stomach was opening wider as her thoughts went wild of what Kaminari said to her in front of everyone. "Kaminari suggested that I should ask you! He said that you were probably just alone in your room listening to music. He knows you well."

Jirou bit down on the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from making a face. "Oh yea, Kaminari knows me so well!" She forced herself to say. "Did he say anything else?" Yaoyorozu shook her head.

"No, after that exchange I came up to your room. I figured the earlier we get started, the more time we'll have!" Jirou made a mental note to yell at Kaminari later. Part of her idea about Yaoyorozu asking her for help deflated at the realization it was just Kaminari pushing her buttons. But the fact that the girl had went along with the suggestion, and quickly at that, still left somewhat of a spark to the idea.

"I haven't had a sleepover in a long time. What did you want to do?" Yaoyorozu thought for a second and then brought her hands up to her cheeks. It looked as if she came up with the best idea in the world.

"Watch a movie!" Yaoyorozu declared with a clap of her hands.

"A movie?" Jirou echoed once again.

"Is there a problem with that request?" The other girl asked. Even if there was a problem, Jirou wouldn't have said no. She knew she couldn't say no to practically anything Yaoyorozu asked of her.

"I figured you would be more of a face mask and makeover type. That's all." Jirou shrugged and sent a smirk at the other girl. This time she wanted to turn the tables and poke fun at the other girl first. Yaoyorozu just smirked back.

"I believe I have supplies to do just that back in my dorm room. If you'll excuse me for a moment I can go grab them." Yaoyorozu stood up and began walking slowly to the door just to prove how far she'd go. Jirou quickly got up after her.

"I'm kidding! A movie is fine." She grabbed the other girl by the wrist gently just to turn her around. For a moment Jirou was lost in the sensation of soft skin on her fingers but quickly shook herself out of it. "I don't have a TV though." Jirou led Yaoyorozu to her bed wrist-in-hand and signaled for her to sit down. "All I have is my laptop so we'd have to make do with a small screen."

"That's fine with me. Should I get anything else?" Yaoyorozu asked. "I want to have the most optimal sleepover experience I can." Jirou thought about that for a second. She wasn't one to have many sleepovers either, so she lacked experience at what an "optimal sleepover" was.

"Uh, snacks?" Jirou finally answered. Before she could even ask what movie she wanted to watch Yaoyorozu was off, presumably to bring snacks. Jirou set up her laptop on the end of her bed. There was no choice but to have them sit on the bed together. She knew it wouldn't be a problem for Yaoyorozu, but Jirou's bed was significantly smaller than the others.

It only took a bit of scouring through countless movies the internet had to offer before Jirou stopped at a certain one. She was sure that Yaoyorozu hadn't seen this movie before. A small knock sounded at the door. "You can come in, Momo. I left it unlocked." There was a shuffling noise as the aforementioned girl came in with an armful of snacks.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I brought as much as I could carry." She wasn't exaggerating when she said that and Jirou's eyes grew wide at the array of snacks laid out on the bed. "Will this be sufficient?" Jirou laughed and nodded. She thought the gesture was cute.

"It's more than enough, but we're gonna have to make room on the bed to watch the movie." Jirou picked up a bag of gummy candy and placed it to the side. "Just pick out what you want. I already picked out the movie." Yaoyorozu nodded and picked out her own small bag of candy. They moved the other snacks onto Jirou's desk before sitting down on the bed. Jirou knew that it would be a tight fit, but she didn't know it would be _this _bad.

Both girls laid back on on pillows while Jirou adjusted the laptop between them. Jirou was teetering uncomfortably on the side of her bed just to keep a space between them. Of course the other girl had to be so observant and call Jirou out on it. "Are you comfortable, Kyouka?" She asked her. "You seem pretty close to the edge of the bed. Am I taking up too much space?"

"Oh no, I was just trying to give you some space." Jirou faltered knowing that it was a pretty weak excuse. Yaoyorozu smiled and waved her hand in a signal for Jirou to move closer.

"This is your bed, Kyouka. It's fine." Jirou knew it was futile to argue, and it's not like she didn't want to move closer anyways. She moved completely onto the bed which left no option but their legs to be touching. "Is it too much to ask to move underneath the comforter? I'm afraid I might get a bit chilly."

As Jirou adjusted herself so they could both get under the covers, she figured that the universe must be playing some cruel trick on her. There was no way Yaoyorozu had just asked them to go underneath the blanket, yet she had. Jirou also couldn't believe that this was happening because of something Kaminari of all people had encouraged Yaoyorozu to seek her out.

"So what movie did you pick out for us?" The voice of the other girl shook Jirou out of her thoughts. It was dumb to be reflecting on how she got here instead of just _appreciating_ the fact that this was happening.

"You said you wanted the optimal sleepover experience, right?" Jirou asked and got a nod from the other girl. "Then it's only fair that we watch a scary movie." She could feel Yaoyorozu tense up at the mention of this.

"A horror film? Is that really necesarry?" Yaoyorozu began to ramble. "It's not that I don't like them, but I do tend to get a bit frightened. They're all nonsense really yet I still find myself overthinking the premise of the movie if they're realistic enough." Jirou leaned over to her laptop and hovered the mouse over the play button.

"I figured you would enjoy something on the psychological side, so I figured we could watch _The Shining_." Jirou pressed the play button and leaned back into the pillows. Although it was just the opening scene of the wilderness she could feel Yaoyorozu move closer to her in anticipation. "You know if you get too scared you can always hold my hand."

With a burst of confidence the words flew out of Jirou's lips before she could stop them. She silently cursed herself thinking that Yaoyorozu would think she was weird for suggesting that. "Is that what friends normally do during sleepovers?" The girl next to her asked softly. This caught Jirou completely off guard.

"Uh, no not exactly." She admitted. "But it doesn't matter to me!" Jirou added quicky. "I just thought I would offer because you know, comfort and stuff." Yaoyorozu didn't respond but a few moments later she felt soft fingers find her own and intertwined them. Jirou gave the other girls hand a soft squeeze before focusing her attention back to the movie.

In short, Yaoyorozu was a very perceptive movie watched. Jirou wasn't even sure if the other girl realized what she was doing. There were times when she would make little tiny noises when certain things happened. Every so often Jirou could feel her squeeze her hand even tighter in response to something that made her jump. It was cute until Jirou could clearly hear Yaoyorozu mumbling under her breath.

"Please tell me you're not analyzing the movie right now." Jirou whispered as she tried to keep focusing on the screen. She'd seen the movie before but Yaoyorozu's hand in hers made it hard enough to focus as it is.

"I would say that but I'm afraid I would be lying. I find that if I talk myself through certain things they become much less terrifying." Yaoyorozu whispered back. "I'm sorry if it's a neusance, I can stop." Jirou just shrugged and squeezed the other girls hand.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Is what Jirou wanted to whisper back but fell short when the other girl let out a high pitched noise. They were at the scene where the twin girls appear in the hallway and apparently that was a bit much for Yaoyorozu. Jirou had seen the movie enough times not to be startled, but she was startled by the fact Yaoyorozu had practically curled into a ball into the side of her body.

One second there had been legs touching, but now Yaoyorozu was fully pressed into her side. Their legs naturally tangled together while Yaoyorozu had her face buried in Jirou's shoulder. Yaoyorozu had let go of her hand and Jirou had no time to move her arm so it was stuffed uncomfortably in between them while the other girl kept her arms tucked in by her chest. Jirou squirmed around to try and free her arm.

"Is this uncomfortable?" Yaoyorozu's voice was muffled from its place on Jirou's shoulder. The girl turned a bit so she could look up at Jirou. Yaoyorozu's eyes were exceptionally big, probably due to the fact that she was obviously terrified of the movie.

"No! I'm just trying to move my arm." Jirou manuevered her arm out of the place it was stuck and quickly realized she had no idea what to do with it. The only two places it could lay would be awkwardly on the pillow behind them or around Yaoyorozu. "Is this okay?" Jirou asked shyly after she had draped her arm around the other girl.

"It's fine." The other girl assured her, and so they stayed like that, with Yaoyorozu resting her head on Jirou's shoulder and Jirou's arm around her. Every so often Yaoyorozu would make a noise that Jirou learned to associate with fear. Soon she found herself nonchalantly tracing her fingers in circles on Yaoyorozu's shoulder.

If Jirou wasn't focusing on the movie before, there was no way she was focusing on it now. The way Yaoyorozu reacted to what was on the screen was like a show in itself. There were times when the girl deemed whatever was on the screen was too scary so she would hide her face back into Jirou's shoulder. Other times she resorted back to mumbling to herself and Jirou pretended like she couldn't hear (which was extremely hard considering her quirk).

At some point one of them had relinked their fingers together and their hands sat on Jirou's stomach. Before Jirou realized it the final scene of the movie was playing, but neither of the girls moved. The air surrounding them was content and although they didn't want to admit it, neither of them wanted to move anyways.

"That was an interesting choice of film. It left me with a lot of things to think about, especially with the idea of reincarnation to a certain point on Earth." Yaoyorozu finally broke the silence between them and Jirou just nodded along as if she understood everything she was talking about.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Jirou glanced at the time on her laptop and noticed it was only around dinnertime. "We definitely kicked this sleepover off a bit earlier than most would so we still have plenty of time. Another movie? You can pick this time." Jirou suggested and Yaoyorozu squeezed her hand.

"I would enjoy that, but may I ask another question first?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"You know you don't have to ask me every time you have a question, Momo." Jirou chuckled. "But what is it?"

"This is just an assumption, but most girls don't typically stay like this while watching movies, do they?" Jirou's chuckle quickly turned into a nervous one.

"What led you to that conclusion?" She steered the question in an opposite direction. Jirou felt a twinge of embarrassment at having the other girl practically call her out on this. But, neither of them had stopped it from happening.

"Well I was just thinking that if it was a sleepover with anyone else I wouldn't want it to be like this." Yaoyorozu answered simply. Jirou all but choked at the answer and once again the idea that the other girl might like her back popped into her mind. "This time let's watch something animated. I think I need to give my mind a break."

Jirou nodded and moved to the laptop closer to them. Yaoyorozu let go of her hand only to pick the movie, and grabbed it again before it started. "This is one of my favorites!" Jirou heard the other girl say, but it was lost in the background noise of her mind. She was too focused on the fact that Yaoyorozu was still lying next to her after admitting that she didn't want to do this with any other girl.

When the movie started Yaoyorozu was once again focused on the screen while Jirou was focused on her. She willed herself to pay attention at least a little bit so she knew what was going on, but to no avail. Yaoyorozu let out a content sigh and snuggled even deeper in Jirou's side. Jirou thought that _maybe_ she should thank Kaminari for this. Just maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The second part I didn't think would ever get written, but here it is! Enjoy :)

Jirou woke up to a knock on her door early Monday morning. She rolled over and glanced at the clock that was flashing a very early time of 5:37 am. "Holy shit, this better be good." The girl grumbled as she crawled out of bed. Jirou opened the door to find none other than Kaminari standing on the other side, but it's what she expected. "It's early." She stated from her place in the doorway.

"Good morning to you too! I think we should talk about something." Kaminari tried to walk into the room but Jirou stuck out her arm to block him from doing so.

"No way in hell, Denki. It's too early." Jirou was no stranger to this time of day, but typically it's because she was _staying_ up until this time, not waking up. It was a much different experience and made her significantly more irritable. Kaminari still tried to maneuver around her arm to no avail.

"Jirou! You know that I wouldn't come get you this early if it wasn't important!" He whined. Jirou knew he wasn't bluffing at that, but the two definitely had different ideas of what could be deemed as important. Someone in trouble would be important to Jirou, but a brand new popular meme would be almost as important to Kaminari.

"And what's so important?" Jirou decided to give him the benefit of the doubt even if it was just for a second. He didn't _look_ like he was about to whip out his phone, anyways.

"So you see, Bakugou, Kirishima, and I were working out again this morning when Kirishima told me that he heard from Ashido-" Jirou slammed the door in his face and walked back towards her bed.

"Don't ever wake me up this early for gossip again." Jirou yelled over her shoulder as she crawled back underneath her covers.

"But Jirou! It's important- ugh whatever! You'll find out soon enough anyways." Kaminari's response was muffled through the door, but she could hear his footsteps retreating. Considering what her quirk was, Jirou really didn't like partaking in gossip. She had overhead enough things by accident as it was.

Now, thanks to her ever so wonderful friend, Jirou was up much earlier than she intended to be. Her alarm was set to go off in another hour and 20 minutes, but now she was wide awake and staring at the ceiling. It had been two days since the event Jirou now called The Sleepover. Somehow it was possible that everything and absolutely nothing at all happened.

After Yaoyorozu's choice in movie the pair had taken turns deciding what they would watch next. Somehow, even after hours had passed, they remained in the same position all evening. Yaoyorozu was cuddled up into Jirou's side while Jirou kept her arm around her. Eventually Jirou had found out Yaoyorozu fell asleep while _holding her hand_ of all things. It was like when a kitten falls asleep on you, you wouldn't dare to move, and that's how Jirou treated the situation.

On Saturday morning Jirou woke up to find themselves in a much more compromising position. They had obviously moved in their sleep, but that didn't help with the fact Jirou felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Jirou had one arm underneath Yaoyorozu and the other on top around her waist. Yaoyorozu had her head nuzzled in right under Jirou's chin and was clinging to her arm like it was all that mattered.

Jirou took a few deep breaths to try and slow her heart rate down. She was absolutely positive if it kept up at the rate it was at that it would wake Yaoyorozu up. So Jirou stayed where she was and didn't move.

She very quickly became used to the little noises Yaoyorozu made while she slept. Every so often the raven haired girl would mumble something in her sleep and fidget a bit. Jirou would loosen her arms ever so slightly to let her wiggle around before tightening them again. It was hard not to get lost in the feeling of Yaoyorozu so close to her. They were so close that if Jirou looked down Yaoyorozu's hair would tickle her nose. And even though she didn't want to admit it, Jirou thought that the girl looked so...

Kissable. The way the rising sun hit Yaoyorozu's face made the girl look so peaceful. For once Yaoyorozu's facial features were actually softened instead of forged with lines of concentration. Just like Jirou had considered their friendship, this moment was fragile. It wasn't supposed to happen, it didn't need to happen, but it _was_ happening.

And then Yaoyorozu woke up.

It wasn't awkward, but the two gradually did have to separate from each other. Legs were no longer tangled together and fingers no longer intertwined. They made idle chit chat about the movies they watched and how they slept before Yaoyorozu mentioned how she promised Iida she would study with him. All good things must come to an end, and so it did.

Jirou was left with a lot of confusing thoughts and a Yaoyorozu sized hole on her bed, and that's where she still sat now on Monday morning while staring at her ceiling. She was a mess. There hadn't been any contact between her and Yaoyorozu since Saturday morning, but it wasn't a _bad_ thing. Was it?

This was exactly the reason Jirou wanted to avoid doing anything about her feelings for Yaoyorozu in the first place. To be fair, she technically hadn't done anything voluntarily, but this was still enough to fuel hours of overthinking. Her bedside clock was just getting past 6 am so Jirou decided to try and sleep just a bit.

Sleep didn't come easy and Jirou found herself tossing and turning until she forced herself to get out of bed. Her morning routine was nothing special which meant in no time she was walking to classroom 1A. Jirou always arrived early to class and tended to be one of the first students there. Today she was extra early, but the classroom was already filling with her peers. And they were staring at her. _All_ of them.

Jirou silently walked to her seat as the rest of her classmates openly stared. A very tense atmosphere hung around the room. This felt like a situation where everyone wanted to say something, but no one was. Jirou knew she looked like a deer in the headlights as she sunk down into the seat of her chair. She shot a confused glance at Kaminari who was crouched around Bakugou's desk, and he just gave her a worried smile.

"If it isn't the _mademoiselle_ of the hour, oui?" Aoyama was turned in his chair to look at Jirou when he said this.

"It's not quite a surprise, but we're happy for you all the same, ribbit." Jirou turned over her shoulder at the sounds of Tsu's voice. Before she could ask what was going on, another voice interrupted her.

"Uh, guys, I thought we agreed we wouldn't talk about this!" Kaminari sounded worried as he said this. "Remember?" Jirou wondered if this is what he was trying to warn her about this morning. It didn't seem bad since they were congratulating her, but she had no idea what it was happening for.

"We just can't help it!" Uraraka all but screamed excitedly from whatever information they all seemed aware of. Well, everyone but Jirou. "We're just so excited for you two!" The bubbly girl looked like she was about to burst from anticipation.

"Two of us?" Jirou finally managed to get out, but it seemed like no one heard her.

"When Yaomomo told us what happened we couldn't keep our mouths shut!" Hagakure piped up from her desk near Jirou.

"Yea, we're sorry if you two wanted to tell everyone yourselves, but before we realized it had spread through the whole class." Ashido added. The situation now made a _tad_ more sense to Jirou. It was one hundred percent clear that Kaminari was trying to avoid this situation from happening, but it seemed stupid that everyone was so hyped up over a sleepover.

"It was just a sleepover. I don't understand why you're all going crazy over it." Jirou said loud enough to reach everyone in the room. "Just don't let Aizawa hear about it because I don't want Momo to get in trouble for breaking the rules." As she said 'Momo' her cheeks flushed a little bit. Jirou always referred to the other girl as 'Yaoyorozu' or 'Yaomomo' in front of others, but she'd let it slip.

"See! I told you guys!" Ashido's arms shot up into the air. "She even calls her Momo!"

"I agree that there is an established bond between the two." Iida's voice cut through the air. "But as class representative, I believe that we should leave the love affairs of our students to their own accord!" Jirou all but choked when she realized that the 'love affairs' Iida talked about was referring to herself and Yaoyorozu.

"What exactly do you think is going on here?" Jirou directed this question at Hagakure and Ashido since they had admitted they were the sources of the rumor.

"I tried to warn you this morning!" Kaminari mumbled next to Jirou. Hagakure and Ashido pretended not to hear Jirou's question, which earned them an eye roll from the girl herself.

"I can't take this shit anymore!" Kaminari jumped back from Bakugou's desk as the latter slammed a fist down angrily onto it. "You're all confusing headphones and annoying the hell outta me." The blonde boy turned to Jirou with an angry smirk on his face. "I don't know what she said to them, but everyone in the class thinks you and ponytail are dating. Now shut the hell up about it!"

The last sentence was louder as it was directed at the rest of her classmates, but Jirou barely heard it. The only thing echoing in her mind was the fact that apparently the whole class _thought she was dating Yaoyorozu_. This was a dream come true, but at the same time an absolute nightmare. Once again she found herself questioning if she should thank Kaminari, this time for the fact he tried to warn her.

Jirou didn't have much time to reflect on that thought since Yaoyorozu decided to pick this moment to walk into the classroom. No one said a word, but Jirou knew that was partly thanks to Bakugou's outburst. "Good morning everyone." Yaoyorozu said sweetly as she walked across the room towards her desk. "Kyouka." She dipped her head at Jirou as she walked past her desk.

"See! I told you-" Ashido began to say but was cut off by Bakugou's glare.

"Stuff it, Pinky." Was all he had to say before the class went silent once again. It was very unlike the class to be so quiet. Usually the classroom was the loudest in the school but now tension lay over it like a thick blanket. If it wasn't for the silence though, Jirou probably wouldn't have heard the almost silent buzzing of her phone.

_**yaomomo!: Did something happen that I'm not aware of? The class seems to be particularly quiet this morning. It's a bit unnerving. **_

Jirou almost dropped her phone when she read the message. Something _did_ happen and it was _technically_ thanks to Yaoyorozu, but she doubted the other girl even knew what she did. Yaoyorozu was innocent in that way. Jirou knew she had probably mentioned something in passing to Hagakure and Ashido, who in turn took it out of context. And now she was in the middle of perhaps one of the weirdest situations of her life.

_**we can talk about it later **_

Was all Jirou texted back. Part of her was angry. She was angry because this whole situation wasn't just weird, but it was stupid. She was angry at Ashido and Hagakure for taking things out of context, herself for not listening to Kaminari, and honestly the rest of the class for not minding their own business.

Another part of her was scared because she knew that she was going to confront Yaoyorozu about this. They were probably going to have to discuss their feelings, and Jirou wasn't good at feelings. She didn't even know what her feelings were and didn't think she was ready to know how Yaoyorozu felt. Their friendship seemed to be teetering on the edge of something more and Jirou didn't want to fall if Yaoyorozu wasn't there to catch her.

"You know she seems kinda sad." Kaminari whispered to Jirou as he slid into his seat. While the seconds seemed to tick by slow in the awkward silence of the classroom it was mercifully almost time for the day to start. Jirou didn't have to ask who 'she' was. There was a burning feeling on the back of her head as if she could feel Yaoyorozu's eyes on her.

"Well it's thanks to her that this stupid rumor started." Jirou whispered back, not realizing what she was saying before the words were out of her mouth. Her words may have been soft but they were laced with a poison that even Bakugou would have been proud of. It was then that Jirou realized she felt irritated more than anything.

Thankfully her classmates were very perceptive about her current mood. No one cared to bother her with the sour look Jirou was sure showed on her face. Kaminari didn't even stray too close to her and spent most of the morning following around Bakugou and Kirishima. It wasn't until lunchtime when her phone buzzed once again.

_**yaomomo!: You've been looking upset all day, Kyouka. We can talk about it if you want to**_

_**yaomomo!: But it's okay if you don't want to talk about it! I figured it might help**_

_**yaomomo!: Sorry for the intrusion. Just, feel better soon, okay?**_

The thread of messages came through her phone almost back to back as if Yaoyorozu had managed to regret each one in sequence. For the first time since this morning Jirou actually felt a bit better. Yaoyorozu had reached out to her, not just because someone had told her Jirou was looking upset, but because she had noticed herself. The girl was selfless.

Jirou sat down at a lunch table in the corner to try and isolate herself from everyone. Unfortunately two of her classmates who were very high up on her "People Jirou is Upset With" list found her.

"These seats are taken." Jirou said to the approaching pink girl and floating uniform. Ashido raised an eyebrow as she took note of the completely empty table.

"Sheesh, what's up with you grumpy?" Ashido said as her and Hagakure sat down anyways. "I think that I'd be happy if the whole class thought I was dating my crush." The pink girl said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"We really didn't mean to spread it around the whole class." At least Hagakure seemed a bit more apologetic than her counterpart. "It was kinda like a domino effect." Jirou heard the girl let out a soft sigh and saw Hagakure's uniform slump down slightly.

"What we're trying to do is apologize! We didn't mean to put you or Yaomomo in an awkward situation." Jirou figured that was the closest to an actual apology she might get from the duo, so she nodded.

"We're sorry!" Hagakure squeaked.

"But to be fair, after what Yaomomo told us, how could we _not_ think you two are an item?!" Jirou hardly had any time to get a word in between the two jubilant girls going back and forth, but that last comment Ashido made got her interested. What exactly had Yaoyorozu said to them? Jirou knew that both Ashido and Hagakure liked to stretch things to their absolute limit, yet her brain wouldn't stray from that statement.

"You want to know what she told us, don't you?" Hagakure asked her. She could hear the smirk in her words and see the _actual_ smirk on Ashido's face. Of course Jirou wanted to know what was said, but it was a bit unnerving that the two girls could deconstruct her so well.

"I mean, I was going to talk to her later. It's kind of inevitable at this point." Jirou couldn't help but glare at them again causing both girls to snicker.

"But we would tell you exactly what she told us! Yaomomo might not want to repeat everything." Ashido pointed out, and Jirou had to admit that she made a good point. There was a chance that Yaoyorozu would get too embarrassed and not want to talk about it even a little bit.

"Better to hear it from us than the rest of the class! At least you'll know what you're up against." Hagakure added on. Jirou glanced at one of the overhead clocks and noticed that the time allotted for lunch was quickly fleeting.

"Only if you make it quick. I'd like to eat a bit." Ashido saluted and Jirou tried to relax as best she could in the current situation. Did this count as going behind Yaoyorozu's back? Part of her felt guilty for even agreeing to let the two girls tell her everything. But at the same time another part reminded Jirou that the only reason they were in this mess was because of whatever Yaoyorozu told them in the first place.

"So, we know about the whole sleepover obviously!" Ashido began. Jirou could already feel herself blushing at the mention of this. "Yaomomo just went on and _on_ about how sweet you were. And you made her watch a scary movie- I have to give you major props for that one!" Ashido held up her hand for Jirou to give her a high five, but the latter just ignored it.

"I wasn't trying to be like that!" Jirou sputtered. "It's a good movie!"

"A good movie to watch when you want to cuddle with someone, right Jirou?" Hagakure was clearly teasing Jirou who looked like she was about to fight both of them.

"Easy, tiger." Ashido said, but Jirou didn't know if it was directed at her or Hagakure. "Then she told us how you fell asleep cuddling. I'll spare you the deets since you already know them." Jirou's mind was going crazy once again. She knew Yaoyorozu had an eloquent way with words and she wondered exactly what picture she had painted for these two.

"Is that all?" Jirou's throat was dry when she croaked out the question.

"Yep! Unless there's more to the story?" Hagakure questioned and both girls leaned a bit forward. It felt like they were the hunters and Jirou was their prey- they were ready to pounce on her if she slipped up just once.

"Did you kiss her?" Ashido dropped her voice down a bit so the question came out more as a whisper. Jirou knew her cheeks flushed immediately at the question.

"Oh my god, she's blushing!" Hagakure said and both girls squealed excitedly. The pair looked like this was the greatest piece of information they'd come across all day. "You totally did it, didn't you?" Hagakure pressed on, but Jirou shook her head.

"I didn't." Jirou said pointedly and both girls looked slightly deflated. The spark in their eyes dulled for a moment before Jirou continued. "We're just friends." That sounded like a lie even to Jirou, only because it _was_ a lie. Yaoyorozu was obviously more than a friend to Jirou in her own eyes, but Jirou wasn't sure how she faired in the other girls mind.

"But even Yaomomo had the sense that something was up! Didn't she ask if what you two were doing was normal sleepover material?" Ashido continued her interrogation and Jirou felt herself being backed up into a figurative corner.

"I mean, we all know how perceptive she is! Can't deny how smart she is." Hagakure pointed out. Jirou now knew how both of these girls got most of their information- they double teamed their classmates with facts until they were practically forced to confess. Which was exactly how Jirou felt right now even though she didn't have anything to necessarily confess.

"So what exactly are you two trying to say?" Jirou felt herself tense up in hesitation about the answer. Apparently they weren't exaggerating when they said Yaoyorozu had told them everything. She hadn't expected the other girl to be so open with her life, but they were a pretty close knit group of girls.

"We're just trying to tell you that we think Yaomomo likes you." Hagakure explained. Jirou looked at her as if she was speaking a foreign language.

"Not just as a friend, but _likes_ you." Ashido added on. "You should have seen the way she was talking about you! It was so adorable." Both girls giggled over whatever shared memory they had of Yaoyorozu. "All we're trying to say is go for it." Jirou just nodded at both of them who thankfully deemed that as an acceptable answer.

"Let us know how it goes!" Hagakure said and just like that Jirou was sitting alone again. Whatever appetite she was harboring before had left sometime in the middle of their conversation. Her empty stomach was filled with the weight of Jirou realizing she had not only been ignoring Yaoyorozu the entire morning, but now a conversation between them was inevitable.

Jirou thought about the message Yaoyorozu sent her earlier- 'You've been looking upset all day, Kyouka'. Upset probably wasn't the word Jirou would use to describe herself right now. Anything along the lines of nervous, scared, or anxious would be up the correct alley. But Jirou knew she was wearing the same expression she always was, she had mastered it, yet somehow Yaoyorozu still picked out her emotions.

Ashido was right when she said Yaoyorozu was perceptive. It was almost scary. That thought alone left Jirou wondering if the other girl saw right through her all along- was it possible that she was aware of Jirou's feelings for her? Jirou wasn't sure and knew she could never be sure unless she spoke to the other girl herself.

_**let's talk later today. come over later. **_

Jirou pressed 'send' before she even registered what she was doing. Everything seemed to be going downhill fast. Jirou didn't know how she was going to start the conversation between her and Yaoyorozu. The scale of their friendship was already wavering. Jirou wasn't sure what would tip the scale and whose favor it would be in- if it was to favor one of them at all. If it tipped too far it could be over for both of them. She just wanted to keep a balance between them.

The sound of the cafeteria doors opening and closing jarred Jirou out of her own thoughts. She was so caught up in everything she hadn't noticed that their lunch period was over. Jirou hadn't eaten, but the weight in her stomach was more pronounced than before. There was still half of a school day to get through which meant Jirou wasn't done with facing her fellow classmates.

Somehow luck was on Jirou's side and the rest of the school day went by without a hitch. Well, mostly. Class 1A was avoiding Jirou like the plague. She wondered if Ashido and Hagakure had something to do with it, but quite frankly Jirou didn't mind. All she wanted was to be left alone until the situation blew over and someone else became the center of gossip.

Still, throughout the day Jirou thought she could feel someone watching her. At one point she turned around to find the perpetrator, only to lock eyes with Yaoyorozu. The other girl had quickly looked away and blushed slightly after being caught. Jirou was sure she sported a similar blush. That always seemed to happen around Yaoyorozu.

Once their last class of the day let out, Jirou began the walk back to her dorm. She had been the first one out of the door once their teacher dismissed them. Although it wasn't typical behavior, Jirou was definitely trying to isolate herself from everyone else. Her luck ran out when she heard the sound of footsteps beating on the pavement as someone ran up behind her.

"Hey!" The footsteps slowed as the other person matched Jirou's walking pace and fell in beside her. "Wanna talk about it?" Is all they asked. The truth was that Jirou _did_ want to talk about it. Her plan before was to listen to music and probably overthink things until Yaoyorozu arrived. Jirou nodded and ten minutes later Kaminari was sitting in his usual spot in Jirou's dorm room.

"It wasn't supposed to end up like this!" Jirou exclaimed and fell backwards onto her bed with a groan. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it as she continued. "Why does everything have to be made into such a big deal?" Jirou's tone was laced with annoyance.

"I tried to warn you…" Kaminari trailed off. Jirou sat up in her bed and raised the pillow she was holding. "Hey! Don't threaten me with a pillow! I tried to stop them before they spread the rumor!" Jirou knew Kaminari was telling the truth and with a huff she slumped back down into her previous position.

"I know you did! I regret not listening to you this morning." Jirou admitted. That was another thought that had wrecked her all day- what if she had listened to the boy that morning? The day probably would've been just as terrible, but at least Jirou could have been prepared.

"No sense in looking at the past!" Jirou wondered if Kaminari had a secret mind reading quirk as he always seemed to know exactly what to say to put her mind at ease. "Besides, you know that old saying, uh…" He trailed off for a second. "Everything happens for a reason!"

"Don't strain yourself by thinking too hard." Jirou joked and Kaminari rolled his eyes, but both of them had playful smirks on their faces. "But you do have a point." Jirou couldn't fault the boy.

"I mean, think about it. If you would have talked to me this morning, what do you think would have happened?" Kaminari asked, but he continued before Jirou had a chance to speak. "You would have freaked out, avoided everyone, Yaoyorozu specifically, and you probably wouldn't speak to her again until I got involved with my amazing wingman skills."

"I wouldn't say putting me into awkward and half-exaggerated situations to get me alone with Yaoyorozu are _amazing_, but I guess they're alright." Jirou laughed. The stoic attitude that Jirou had surrounded herself with all day was slowly melting away. "But to be fair, Ashido and Hagakure were the ones who talked to Yaoyorozu about the sleepover."

"You really think that they just started girl talk with Yaomomo of all people without some sort of push?" Kaminari asked as if he couldn't believe Jirou would suggest such a thing. "I may or may not have asked them to get involved a little bit." Jirou sat up in bed once again at Kaminari's confession.

"Kaminari!" Jirou yelled and this time she chucked the pillow at him. The pillow reached its target and hit Kaminari in the center of his chest, but Jirou knew he didn't care. The smug expression on his face showed how happy he was with himself.

"Wow Jirou, throwing a pillow at someone is a weird way to say thank you!" He threw the pillow back towards her. She caught it and placed it back at the head of her bed. Jirou knew she should thank Kaminari for everything, but she was too stubborn for that right now. "So, have you talked to her today?"

Jirou sighed when he brought it up. She knew that they were going to talk about the elephant in the room eventually, but it didn't mean she wanted to. "She messaged me this morning after everyone in the class was acting weird. Then she messaged me later and told me I looked upset." Kaminari sucked in a deep breath.

"Yikes. Did you message her back?" He asked. Jirou nodded.

"I was pretty short with her, but I told her we could talk about it later. Then during lunch I might have told her to come by my dorm today." Jirou admitted. "Keep that between us. I don't want the rest of the class to find out." Kaminari jokingly saluted at the other girl.

"You have my honor as wingman! Everything in this room stays between us!" Kaminari promised. "Now that you mention it, Yaoyorozu looked a little upset today herself." The boy pointed out, and the words hit Jirou right in the stomach. Was it her fault?

"I noticed her staring at me all day. If that stupid rumor wasn't started then I would've said something, but I didn't want everyone to get the wrong idea." Kaminari was nodding along with what Jirou said. "I feel bad for ignoring her."

"Hey- just explain it to her. I'm sure that she of all people would understand." Kaminari reassured her. The comment only mad Jirou feel a smidge better, but at least it was something. Kaminari took out his phone and glanced at the time. "That being said, I should probably get going. I have a date with the gym and you have one with Yaoyorozu."

Jirou rolled her eyes again as the boy let himself out of her room. "Try not to get involved this time!" She yelled as he walked out the door.

"No promises!" He yelled back before the sound of the door shutting signaled that Jirou was alone once again. Her earlier idea of listening to music and overthinking the situation was at the forefront of her mind, but Jirou knew that it wouldn't help her. For now, she laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Everything had happened so quickly. When Hagakure referred to the situation as a "domino effect" earlier, Jirou couldn't agree more. The chain reaction probably began when Jirou realized she looked at Yaoyorozu in a different light. The next domino fell over when Jirou told Kaminari about her feelings. The first two had happened weeks apart, but now everything was happening as close to _minutes_ apart from each other.

Now Jirou had to come up with a plan of what she was going to say to Yaoyorozu. She didn't want to start by saying her feelings for the other girl outright- if she wanted to admit her feelings at all. Jirou wasn't one to do crushes. Sure, she liked poking fun at some of her classmates who had more than obvious crushes, but Jirou never categorized herself in that way.

Jirou had always been one to push feelings to the side. There were a lot more important things in life than pining after someone, yet somehow Jirou found herself becoming said person. It was ridiculous, but she couldn't get her feelings to stop. And part of her didn't want them to stop either. At this point everything for Jirou was just uncharted territory. She didn't know what she was doing, if it was considered wrong or right, but she knew she had to keep moving forward.

_We're just trying to tell you that we think Yaomomo likes you! _Jirou reflected on what Hagakure had said earlier. There was no way that both girls could pick that up from a few short conversations with Yaoyorozu- was there? Unless the girl had specifically _said_ that she liked Jirou, but that would be pretty bold for her. Jirou could feel her thoughts picking up speed as she washed over all of the possibilities of what Yaoyorozu liking her even entailed.

In Jirou's eyes the two had already defied the logic of friendship. Punk girl meets preppy rich girl wasn't a typical start to any sort of positive relationship, but somehow they had done it. Jirou wondered how far pushing boundaries between them could go. If the most unlikely of pair had become friends, who was to say they couldn't be more?

"This is so stupid!" Jirou flipped over and yelled into her pillow. The girl stayed in that position until her rampant thoughts ran her ragged and she was fighting to stay awake. Eventually the tiredness of overthinking won. Jirou succumbed to her heavy eyelids and closed her eyes.

Jirou awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. It seemed like she was only asleep for a few moments, but somehow she was groggy as ever. "It's open." Jirou yelled in her best 'I-promise-I'm-awake-voice'. She had no idea who was at the door, but quite frankly Jirou didn't care. She figured that Kaminari had just forgotten something.

The sound of the door slowly opening made Jirou sit up and begin to stretch. "Did you forget something, Denki?" Jirou mumbled around a yawn. Her door clicked back shut as the other person made their way into the room. Jirou blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. "You woke me up from a nap, dude. Next time just come in."

"You have my sincerest apologies for waking you up, Kyouka." The voice that responded to her most definitely did _not_ belong to Kaminari. "I knew it was silly of me to come down here without checking with you first!" As the melodic voice of Yaoyorozu filled the room, Jirou suddenly became hyper-aware of her appearance.

"Oh, holy shit! I mean- I'm sorry! I thought it was Kaminari." Jirou began to comb through her hair with her fingers in an attempt to fix it. She looked down and realized that she never changed out of her school uniform. The typically pressed shirt and skirt combo were now horribly wrinkled thanks to her impromptu nap.

"Is this a bad time?" Yaoyorozu asked. She stood in the middle of the room and watched Jirou with an almost amused expression. "You said to come by later, and I thought that after dinner would be acceptable as 'later'." Yaoyorozu moved a hand up to her mouth in an attempt to cover her growing smirk. "Did you have a good nap?" She asked Jirou innocently.

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" Jirou grumbled as she continued to run her fingers through her hair. There was a knot she couldn't seem to get out. Yaoyorozu didn't answer but Jirou swore she heard her stifle a giggle. "I didn't realize I slept that long." Jirou gave up on her hair and moved her hands down to her uniform. She tried to smooth out the wrinkles on her skirt.

"You look fine, Kyouka." Yaoyorozu said and stepped forward until she was right in front of Jirou. The other girl paid little attention until Yaoyorozu reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. "You don't need to worry about what you look like in front of me." Jirou immediately stiffened at the feeling of the other girls slender fingers around her wrist.

At this moment another figurative domino had fallen. Everything that Jirou had thought would happen was already well out the window. It was clear that Yaoyorozu already had some sort of leg up in the situation seeing as though Jirou was left speechless by a simple touch. "May I?" Yaoyorozu asked and signaled to the empty spot next to Jirou. She nodded and the other girl sat down.

"I think we should talk." Jirou finally managed to croak out the words when Yaoyorozu removed her hand. "I mean, we don't have to talk! If you don't want to. It's totally okay." The girl found herself backtracking on the main reason why she invited Yaoyorozu over in the first place.

"I agree that we should talk." Yaoyorozu said. The atmosphere had quickly changed from lighthearted to something much more serious. "Why were you avoiding me today?" The question came out so quietly that, quirk be damned, Jirou almost missed it. It didn't surprise Jirou that Yaoyorozu started off with a bold question right away, but that didn't mean she was prepared to answer it.

Jirou took in a deep breath. She wondered if Yaoyorozu could hear how fast her heart was beating. It was loud enough to drown out any other sound from Jirou's ears, even her own voice as she answered. "When the whole class thinks you're dating someone and it's not true, you tend to want to keep your distance."

It may not have been the whole truth, but it was Jirou's truth and that's what mattered. Still the answer must have appeased Yaoyorozu to some length because her body visibly relaxed at the answer. "Oh thank goodness! I was afraid you were mad at me!" The girl sounded relieved at this sudden revelation.

"I couldn't be mad at you." Jirou admitted quietly. "Besides, you didn't spread the rumor anyways. You can thank Ashido and Hagakure for that one." Yaoyorozu laughed and Jirou playfully rolled her eyes.

"I honestly didn't think those two would take it as far as they did. I feel like I can't apologize enough for putting you in this situation." Yaoyorozu began to ramble. "I was just so excited I finally found someone…" She trailed off. Jirou looked at her expectantly waiting for her to finish the thought.

"This might be the first time I've ever seen you at a loss for words." Jirou laughed. "What did you mean by someone?" She tried to steer the other girl back into the conversation. The silence building up between them wasn't awkward, but it was heavy. Jirou's heart was still beating rapidly enough that she worried the sound could cut through the silence.

After what seemed like forever, Yaoyorozu finally spoke up again. "I know what I mean, but I'm not sure if I can explain it. It's almost like a feeling? Does that even make sense?" Yaoyorozu chuckled nervously. Her body language had reverted back to being awkward and uncomfortable. "I know what I'm trying to say, but I don't know how to say it."

It was almost cruel how ironic the situation was. The figurative dominoes that kept falling only brought both girls together in a state of utter confusion towards each other. Jirou wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh, cry, or scream. "It makes sense, because I feel the same way." She finally admitted.

In one way that statement was a lie because Jirou knew exactly what she wanted to say. She wanted to shower Yaoyorozu with praise and crack dumb jokes just for a chance to hear her laugh. She wanted to be the one who comforted the other girl during scary movies, not just one time but _all _of the time. She wanted Yaoyorozu as more than a friend.

In another way, that statement wasn't a lie because Jirou didn't know how to express these feelings to Yaoyorozu. A picture might be worth 1,000 words but the picture of Yaoyorozu in Jirou's mind couldn't be described by so few. Even the way she was looking at Jirou now with practically the innocence of a child had her stomach doing flips.

"So I'm not going crazy?" Yaoyorozu asked with another nervous laugh. "You're very special to me, Kyouka. And I- I'm not sure how to put this. After everything that happened today, I realized that I value our friendship immensely. Hearing people talk about us together made me feel…" She trailed off again.

"Weird?" Jirou offered, but Yaoyorozu shyly shook her head. She cast her eyes downwards.

"It made me feel nice." Yaoyorozu finished. An overwhelmingly awkward silence filled the small room after this. Jirou had no idea how to react to the fact that somehow the thought of them together made Yaoyorozu feel _nice._ The other girl was blushing profusely and was focusing very intently on Jirou's floor.

"It made me feel nice too." If Yaoyorozu could admit that, Jirou thought she could too. For once in this whole mess Jirou felt that they both stood on equal ground. The other girl perked up a bit when she said this.

"It did?" The question was teeming with innocence in a way that almost made Jirou's heart burst. Yaoyorozu looked up from the ground and turned to gaze at Jirou. She had a shy smile playing at her lips, and it was one Jirou found herself easily returning.

"I guess having the whole class think you're dating your crush isn't that bad." Jirou expected Yaoyorozu to feel weird after she admitted this. She expected the other girl to apologize and say that she must have taken their closeness for something else. Jirou wouldn't have been surprised if Yaoyorozu got up, walked out, and never talked to her again.

But everything she expected to happen, didn't.

Instead, Jirou watched as Yaoyorozu's facial features softened. She didn't look weirded out and there was no apology. Instead of getting up and walking out Jirou could've sworn that she had moved a bit closer to her. The smile Yaoyorozu gave Jirou was so bright it was like watching a sunrise.

Everything was happening in slow motion and Jirou felt dizzy. There was no mistaking the fact that they were closer together, and the distance between them was rapidly decreasing. Alarm bells began to go off in Jirou's mind warning her about what would happen next. It wasn't what she imagined would happen at all.

Jirou had always thought that kissing looked weird. Somewhere deep, deep, _deep _in the back of her mind, she might have fantasized about her first kiss once or twice. Of course, reality was much better than anything she could have ever thought up.

Before Jirou could truly process what was going on, the gap between them vanished. She felt a soft pressure on her lips. It took a second for the alarms to start going off again, because _Yaoyorozu was kissing her._ Jirou pressed back gently trying to match the same softness the other girl was using. Just as quick as it had happened, Yaoyorozu pulled back.

"Was it that bad?" Yaoyorozu's smiled quickly faltered as she studied Jirou's face. "I'm sorry! That was the first time I've ever done that." Jirou quickly realized her expression must have been what set the other girl off into another string of apologies.

"I wasn't expecting that." Jirou began. Yaoyorozu looked as if she wanted to say something, but Jirou continued before she could start. "But that doesn't mean it was a bad feeling. It made me feel nice." Jirou quoted what the other girl had said earlier and they both giggled.

"As you put it earlier, I guess having the whole class think you're dating your crush isn't that bad!" Yaoyorozu's laugh had finally lost the nervous edge to it. "I think those are the words that I was looking for earlier." Jirou couldn't help but smile at the other girl.

"Crush, huh?" Jirou playfully elbowed the other girl in her side. The two were sitting shoulder to shoulder now and Yaoyorozu just giggled at the gesture.

"That's one way to put it." The other girl said. Somehow everything had managed to fall into the perfect place. What started out as a hopeless crush Jirou pushed aside had turned into, well, whatever _this_ was. Jirou didn't care what happened because she was just happy to have Yaoyorozu sitting next to her. And maybe, just _maybe_ she would have to thank Kaminari for it later.


End file.
